UCLA guard Aaron Holiday, left, and Cal State Bakersfield swingman Shon Briggs scramble for a loose ball during the first half of Wednesday’s game at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

UCLA guard Aaron Holiday (3) shoots against Cal State Bakersfield during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. UCLA won 75-66. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

UCLA center Thomas Welsh dunks against Cal State Bakersfield during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. UCLA won 75-66. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Cal State Bakersfield coach Rod Barnes shouts to his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. UCLA won 75-66. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

UCLA coach Steve Alford shouts to his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Cal State Bakersfield in Los Angeles Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. UCLA won 75-66. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

LOS ANGELES — After two teams shot better than 48 percent against UCLA in Kansas City, Mo., head coach Steve Alford was most interested in seeing defensive growth when the Bruins returned to Pauley Pavilion for a four-game homestand.

The coach got that Wednesday against Cal State Bakersfield and needed every bit of it as UCLA overcame a frigid shooting night to beat the Roadrunners 75-66.

The Bruins (6-1) made just two of their 17 3-point attempts but held Bakersfield to 29.9 percent shooting. It was the first time a UCLA opponent shot less than 30 percent from the field since Cal State Northridge’s 17-for-58 performance on Nov. 29, 2015.

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“I think three weeks ago we lose this game because so much of what our defense was about how we were doing offensively,” Alford said. “And tonight, as bad as we were offensively at times, our defense was consistently pretty good and that’s a positive, that’s growth on the defensive end.”

UCLA uncharacteristically threw up long-distance airballs. One shot from guard Chris Smith went off the side of the backboard. The Bruins’ only made 3-point baskets came from center Thomas Welsh and forward Alex Olesinski.

Missing their long-range touch, the Bruins subsisted on 44 points in the paint. Junior guard Aaron Holiday led the team with 16 points, despite missing all five of his 3-point attempts, with seven rebounds and six assists. Welsh had his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Six of the Bakersfield’s 10 made field goals during the first half came from 3-point range to help the Roadrunners (4-4) build a nine-point lead 10 minutes into the game.

UCLA settled in at the end of the first half and held Bakersfield to just one point for a 7-minute, 38-second stretch between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second. Three of UCLA’s first four field goals in the second half came off an assist after the team didn’t get a single assist until the 8:31 mark of the first half.

“When the ball movement picked up, we got good shots for everybody,” Welsh said. “So that’s the thing. We can’t let the ball stick on offense and we’re starting to find people so we get good looks, good shots and good things happen for us.”

Back-to-back 3-pointers and two free throws from Bakersfield’s Jarkel Joiner cut the deficit to seven with 1:26 to go, but UCLA salted the win away at free-throw line by scoring its final seven points from the stripe.

Hands, returning from a foot injury that kept him out last Sunday, scored all seven of his points from the free-throw line on 7-for-8 shooting. He was 0 for 5 from the field, but had four rebounds with four assists and a steal.

“You’re going to make some mistakes offensively whether it’s ball-handling, whether it’s passing, whether it’s having games where you don’t shoot the ball particularly well, but if you can grow defensively, then you’re going to become a better player. And that’s the hardest thing,” Alford said. “Whatever level you’re at, you go from middle school to high school, when you go from to high school to college, when you go from college to the NBA, the hardest thing to do is defensively. So it’s a learning curve.”

Thuc Nhi Nguyen has covered UCLA for the Southern California News Group since 2016. A proud Seattle native, she majored in journalism and mathematics at the University of Washington. She likes graphs, animated GIFs and superheroes.

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